


The Promise of That Day

by thatzodiacsky



Category: Kagerou Project
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-15 22:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3464729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatzodiacsky/pseuds/thatzodiacsky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU. Kido's father is remarrying, and she's furious about the entire thing. Currently intended to stand alone, but I like the idea so I may write a sequel or something else set in the same universe after this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Promise of That Day

Kido didn't understand why she had to be here in the first place. Her mother was beyond furious, but Kido was finding it difficult to echo her feelings. She'd always told Kido in a half-whisper that if it hadn't been for her father's wife, then they would all live together as a happy family. If it hadn't been for Kido's older half-sister, Kido would actually be worth something as a person.

Kido had always had trouble believing it, but sometimes she thought her mother really did think it was true. She seemed to repeated it often enough, as though she was trying to convince herself.

But now, her father's wife was dead ('So sad!' 'A tragedy!' the servants said, in voices that lacked even an ounce of sincerity) and he was getting married again. Only, not to her mother. To some woman she'd never even heard of. And there were whispers about her too of course, but not ones Kido really understood.

But she sat at the small table far from the center of the room and watched her father fawn over the strange woman with an empty feeling in her chest. She'd never seen him like that with her mother, or even with the woman he'd been married to at the time. His new wife was beautiful, it was true. Kido couldn't help but admire her light hair and sharp smiles. Nothing like her own mother. Nothing like Kido either.

Across the room she could see her half-sister, laughing and talking with her friends and hardly sparing her father a second glance. She knew her father wasn't close with her older sister either, so Kido was sure it wasn't jealousy she was feeling. The other adults at her table had left for the bar by now, so she was left alone with nothing but empty glasses and crumpled napkins. Idly, she fiddled with the remaining food on her plate, half expecting her mother to materialize from the shadows and scold her for playing with her food.

"Hey— are you going to drink that?"

Kido blinked. She'd been lost in thought to the point where she hadn't even noticed the other child approach her table. He looked to be about her age, and there was something shifty about his eyes, or maybe his expression. He was pointing towards the half empty water glass sitting to her left, and she shook her head mutely. He seized it with relief.

"Ahhh, it's so hot… you don't have to deal with that though, right?"

It was true that he was wearing a button down shirt with a jacket and child-size tie, and that Kido's own uncomfortable dress had short sleeves that dug into her upper arms. But it was also just cooler over here in the corner rather than near the middle of the crowd, from where he had presumably emerged. She hated that her father had to invite so many people, but she knew it was one of the ways he expressed his wealth and power. Or something like that. Her mother had explained it all while sneering over the invitation, and Kido never dared to say anything to her when she was in that state.

Still, this kid in front of her was only a child like her, and she could answer him well enough. He was probably the son of some business partner of her father or something. Hardly important.

"If you're hot," she said, tipping her chin, "why not go outside? It's dark already, so it should be cooler."

He finished draining the glass, setting it back on the table with a loud clink. "Outside…? Well, I don't want to cause any trouble, but if we can get out of here and back without being noticed, it should be okay…"

He seemed to be talking to himself, shooting a glance back towards the knot of people surrounding her father and his new wife, but Kido took issue with his words. "'We'? Who said I was going with you?"

She didn't mean to be so direct, but something about his manner set her teeth on edge, and she found herself clenching her fists in her skirts. He just laughed.

"It was your idea! You aren't scared of the dark, are you?"

And she wasn't. Of course she wasn't. But that didn't mean she was going with him, and she surprised herself when she shot to her feet, stiff shoes too-loud on the hard floor. "Fine. It's this way."

Without her, he might get lost— or at least that's what Kido told herself as she strode away along the edge of the room, never once checking to see if he was following her. If her mother saw her now she'd chide her for taking such big steps— it was hardly ladylike. But Kido found she didn't care.

Outside certainly was cooler, and Kido felt goosebumps raise across her arms and shoulders.

"Ahh, you're right— this is much better!"

Kido turned to find the boy with his arms spread and eyes shut, apparently enjoying the cool air of late evening. It really must be a pain to be dressed like that…

"Why don't you just take your jacket off in the first place?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow, and he hunched his shoulders.

"Mom told me not to, and I don't want to trouble her, so… This jacket is pretty expensive, you know! It'd be a problem if I lost it."

To Kido's eyes, there wasn't anything special about his coat, but she decided to take his word for it.

The two of them stood in silence for several minutes, and Kido rubbed her bare arms, trying to chase goosebumps away. She could always just go inside, but…

"Weddings are awful," she said decisively, setting her jaw. The boy laughed.

"Agreed! Let's never get married, okay?"

He offered it casually, as if it was nothing, but when Kido glanced in his direction he was offering her his pinky, ready to make the promise official. She'd never made a pinky promise before, or even talked to another kid like this. Something in her heart warmed a little, and she felt the chill lessen for just a few seconds.

Then she huffed. "I'm not making a deal with someone who's name I don't even know," she said, crossing her arms, and he laughed again.

"Kano Shuuya. That any better?"

Since she hadn't told him her name either, and he'd offered his so easily, Kido felt a flush of embarrassment, and reached out to curl her pinky finger around his. "Fine. I'm Kido Tsubomi. Let's never get married."

He repeated the promise with a chuckle, and she pulled her hand quickly away from his. It wouldn't be a hard promise to keep. She didn't see the point in getting involved with that sort of thing anyway.

"Tsubomi!"

Kido's mother was calling her, and she looked furious. Kido jumped, subconsciously fixing her posture and brushing out her skirts.

"I need to go," she said.

The boy— Kano— was watching her. "Don't forget, okay?"

It didn't matter. She'd never see him again. But she nodded. "I won't forget. Goodbye!"

Without waiting for his answer she hurried to her mother's side, where she was bundled into the car and scolded soundly for leaving the party.

"And with that boy, too!" Kido's mother huffed, scandalized, and Kido shrank back against the seat. "This better not start a trend. I don't want to see you with him again."

Kido was not in the habit of talking back to her elders, but this struck her as ridiculous. "You won't. When would I see him?"

Her mother laughed, high and sharp and with little humor in it. "You really don't know? He and his— mother, that woman who took your father… they're moving into the house starting the day after tomorrow. I tell you, I won't let myself be pushed to the side like this. I was here before she was, you know—"

Kido's mother continued to complain, and Kido tuned her out, the strange numb feeling starting in her chest again. Would she be pushed aside in favor of him because he was a boy? Or since he wasn't her father's child, would he be an outcast like she was?

She was too muddled to figure it out at the moment, but when she folded her hands together in her lap, perfect and ladylike, her pinky finger felt warm.


End file.
